Protective Instincts
by Wild-Bananas
Summary: Sure, Tony has always been possessive, but the urge to protect the people he's just beginning to love is a new one for him. So when someone comes to Stark Tower looking for everyone's favorite angry green rage monster, he knows just how to deal with her.


**Sorry I've been gone so long! Ugh, college. Sometimes I wish I were flipping burgers somewhere just so I could rid myself of homework and studying! But finals will be over soon enough, and then I can do more fun stuff like writing! Yay! I have SO MANY stories I want to write! Gah!  
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**Sorry also for the sucky summary. It's late and all my creative is in here. Anywhoo, just FYI, this takes place soon after The Avengers. Bruce has been living in Stark Tower since the end of the movie, and he and Tony partake in much science!**

**Enjoy!**

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Tony Stark strode into his building. He walked made his way towards the front desk, spinning his car keys on his little finger. With his other hand, he pressed against his earpiece.

"Pepper home?" He asked.

"She left fifty-two minutes ago, Sir," Jarvis replied.

"Where'd she go?"

"I do not know. She received a phone call, then left in a hurry, rather stressed."

Tony frowned. Often enough such a scenario ended up being Pepper taking business too seriously, but every time he worried that something bad could be happening. "Keep me updated," he ordered. "If something seems wrong…"

"You shall be the first to know, Sir," Jarvis confirmed.

Tony wasn't quite sure when he's become so protective (read: paranoid) about Pepper's safety, but recently, any time she was off somewhere he found himself just a little more worried than he knew he should be. His brain was good at what-ifs: What if that phone call had been the first step of luring her into a trap? What if someone was trying to use her to get to him? What if she was kidnapped on the way to her meeting?

He tried to shake the thoughts from his head most of the time, but sometimes he sincerely regretted telling the world he was Iron Man. He had so many enemies now, and a big building with his name on it was practically a bull's-eye for anyone crazy enough to want a fight with him. His own safety, his own life, he knew he could handle. He didn't worry about himself. But Pepper, that was a different story entirely. He worried constantly about the target he'd metaphorically pinned to her back. He considered calling her, just to make sure she was safe, if not bored to death, in a meeting somewhere and not being dangled over a pit of hungry sharks with laser shooters attached to their heads. _No, you're being ridiculous_, he reprimanded himself as he approached the front desk. He tossed his keys to desk-girl (what was her name, again? Isabel? Ilene? It was something with an 'I,' he was sure), and said, "Don't scratch her, she's my favorite."

The girl dutifully responded with a "yes, Mr. Stark," and he turned to go to his and Pepper's private elevator.

"Mr. Stark?" He'd thought I-something desk-girl had spoken, but when he turned around, an unfamiliar brunette woman was facing him.

He sighed. "Look, if I missed an appointment or something, please make another one, I don't have time right now."

"I don't have an appointment," she admitted.

He raised an eyebrow at her. The woman was pretty. She had long brown hair pulled into a ponytail, and Tony noticed her well-defined jaw. She dressed in that same smart/sexy way that Pepper did. He wondered if this woman thought she could charm her way into whatever she wanted from him. He had to admit to himself, he probably would have invited her upstairs (and into bed) a few short years ago; in the time before Iron Man and before Pepper. Now, though…

"Well if you don't have an appointment, you can make one or you can leave. I don't really _do_ visitors," he turned to leave, but she followed him.

"I'm not here to see you," she said.

Ok, she got his attention back. He stopped walking to face her. "Then what are you here for?"

"I heard– I mean, the word is, well…" She had to stop herself to breathe, which had Tony raising an eyebrow. "Dr. Banner. He's here, right?"

His raised eyebrow turned to a glare. Here was another case of Tony's newfound protective instincts. "What did you say your name was?" he demanded.

"Elizabeth Ross," she responded.

"Googling now, sir," Jarvis reported in his ear. Tony's AI knew him too well. "Elizabeth Ross is a Cellular Biologist at Culver University, and is the daughter of General Ross, who visited last month."

Tony frowned, and decided to update Jarvis' vocabulary algorithms; 'visited' was not the word Tony would have used to describe the General barging into Stark Tower with half the army on his heels demanding custody of Bruce.

"Did your father send you here?" Tony asked abruptly. She looked shocked; maybe surprised that Tony somehow knew who her father was. "Let me give you a message to pass on to your dear ole dad. I told him once, and I'll tell him again: Bruce is untouchable. He's not an abomination, and he's _not_ a _specimen_. He's a scientist and he's a hero and he's my goddamn friend, so leave him the hell alone or I will make sure General Ross and his ridiculous mustache get fired and sued, and maybe even thrown in jail to rot, if I have some spare time on my hands. Got it, missy?"

Astoundingly, she smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me. But I don't think I'm a good messenger to pass it on; my father and I haven't spoken to each other in, well, a while."

"Then what are you doing here? Hoping for some DNA to study?"

"I'm an… old friend, sort of," she said nervously, like it wasn't the whole story.

That took Tony by surprise. Bruce had never mentioned being friends with the daughter of his most obnoxious enemy. He narrowed his eyes at her, but she didn't back off or look away like a liar would have.

He put a finger to his ear. "Jarvis, where's our Jolly Green Giant?" Ms. Ross seemed a little annoyed at the nickname.

"R&D Lab 6," Jarvis answered.

"Put me through."

"Certainly, sir."

"Hey, Dr. Jekyll, you hear me?" Betty frowned at this nickname, too, and Tony turned his back to her.

Bruce voice sounded distant, coming through the lab's intercom system. "Yeah, Tony, what it is? I'm working."

"You have a visitor."

"I don't _get_ visitors, Tony. Tell them I don't do interviews and that they should read the official statements more thoroughly if they have any questions."

"She says she's a friend of yours. General Ross's daughter."

There was a pause. "Betty?" he asked, startled.

"If Betty is short for Elizabeth," Tony confirmed.

There was the sound of something falling over and shattering, followed by Bruce cursing. "I– Tell her I'll be right down!" Then it sounded like a chair was knocked over.

"Calm down, big guy! I just rebuild Lab 6 a week ago, and I'll be damned if you destroy it already."

"I'm not destroying anything!" Bruce protested. "I just– Ah!" Something else made a shattering sort of sound.

"Ok. Get out of there _now_," Tony ordered, an amused smile on his face as he imagined Bruce so flustered that he was tripping over his own feet. "I'll send in a cleaning crew, just stop breaking things."

Bruce sighed. "Is it too late to go back and accept your offer to buy me expensive clothes?" he asked, referring to a couple weeks ago when Tony had suggested they get Bruce some tailored suits (and tailored everyday shirts and pants and shoes that weren't worn-down running shoes ("For Christ's sake, Bruce, you aren't running anymore."))

"It's not too late if you invent a time machine in the next five minutes," Tony quipped.

"Sure. I'll get right on that." Bruce's voice sounded clearer, and Tony assumed he'd put in his earpiece to leave the lab. Tony heard the ping of the elevator in the background. "Actually, Tony, do you think you would mind if– I mean, you don't have any clothes I could borrow, do you?"

"Go ahead and raid my closet, Big Guy. Any suit not made of metal is as good as yours."

Bruce sighed, relieved. "Thanks, Tony," he said, and he really meant it. Tony was not the sharing type, but for some inexplicable reason, Bruce found himself on the receiving end of Tony's time, his lab space, his home, his often ridiculously extravagant gifts ("What do you mean, 'No, I don't want a Lamborghini?!' Okay, fine. How about a Porsche? Oh come on, at least an Audi. Please! Let me get you an Audi"), and now Tony had even opened a free access policy on his clothing. He wasn't sure what he had done to earn a friend like Tony, but he sure as hell wasn't going to look this gift horse in the mouth. He grabbed some of Tony's clothes, changed as quickly as possible, and pulled a comb through his hair (pointlessly, he duly noted).

Meanwhile, Tony was downstairs with Betty. He smiled at her once Bruce had gotten off the phone. "So are you Jolly Green's girlfriend or something?" he asked abruptly.

Betty flushed red, and stuttered for a moment before saying, "I don't think Bruce would appreciate you calling him that."

Tony laughed at the change of subject. "I hope you're wrong about that, 'cause if Bruce takes issue with nicknames, then I'm about one mention of 'chartreuse' away from him exploding on me."

Betty frowned, though Tony was grinning, apparently finding himself very funny. "You shouldn't be making fun of his condition, either," she asserted.

Tony looked amused, "Why not? Bruce is more comfortable joking about it than everyone taking it _too_ seriously," he explained.

Betty was taken aback. Despite what Tony had said earlier, it hadn't really registered with her that Tony Stark was really Bruce's _friend_ until he'd told her something about her ex-boyfriend that _she_ didn't know.

Tony continued, "Apparently, you only have to destroy a chuck of New York one time and people get all scared of you." He rolled his eyes.

"Twice," Bruce corrected from behind him. He'd made it downstairs in time to catch the tail end of whatever Tony was saying. "I've destroyed significant amounts of New York twice, now," he clarified.

Tony laughed and turned back to Betty, stage whispering, "He thinks he's _soo_ special," loud enough for Bruce to hear.

Bruce and Tony laughed, and Betty found herself laughing with them. She looked at Bruce and he seemed so happy, so… carefree. A complete 180 degrees from when she'd last seen him, running from her father.

"So, do you want to go get coffee or something?" Betty asked.

Bruce grinned like an idiot. "Sure! Oh, wait." He turned to Tony, remembering that they had planned to finish writing algorithms and calibrating their most recent pet project today.

"We'll do it tomorrow," Tony said, apparently reading Bruce's mind. "Go have fun. And keep your comm on you, just in case anyone tries to give you shit. We don't need to try for a third, do we?" he asked, winking at Bruce.

Bruce smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." Tony shrugged.

"No, really. Thank you," Bruce said, thanking Tony for everything from the shirt he was borrowing, to the help he'd given with dealing with the Other Guy, to the entire new lease on life Tony had handed him. He wished he had a better way to thank him for the home he'd provided, the good PR he'd gotten the Hulk, the people he'd kept off his tail, and the most recent, subtle promise that he had his back if anything went wrong.

Tony smiled back, understanding. "Anytime." Then Tony made his way towards his private elevator (did he mention? Tony'd given Bruce the passcodes for that, too), and Bruce and Betty left the lobby. Even stepping out of the sanctuary of Stark Tower, Bruce felt like it was going to be a good day.

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**Just so you all know, I don't believe that this will ever see a chapter two about Bruce and Betty. I mostly just wanted to get across the bond between Tony and Bruce. If you're looking for more Science Bros goodness, try the fic I wrote called Team Building. 'Tis fun times :)**

**Thanks for reading! And as always, I'll respond to reviews if you leave them :D**


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